Stonehenge
by prouvaires
Summary: In which Arthur pouts, Uther is obstinate, Gaius looks on hopelessly and Merlin really wishes he hadn't created that goddamn portal.
1. Two girls, three men and a rock

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Merlin. But boy I wish I did.

**Rating: **T (for language and possibly innuendo in later chapters … I haven't decided yet.)

**A/N: **So I just spent fifteen minutes wrestling with the packaging on my new toothbrush. For some reason there are no scissors left in our house, and my mum's on a new detox-type diet, so she's so cranky we're all trying to avoid her and I don't dare ask for a new pair of scissors in case she tries to kill me with them!

Anyway, while attempting to get to my toothbrush, I remembered seeing this topic of conversation come up earlier in one of the Merlin forums and I wanted to see if I was a good enough writer to pull it off. I'm not convinced I am, but I suppose that's for you guys to decide!

--

They're on a school trip to Stonehenge.

And they're not very happy about it.

"I hate the rain," Katie comments blankly to her friend, who's sitting on the ground beside her, sheltered beneath one of the huge rock archways. Both look extremely unimpressed.

"K, you just hate your life," Rebecca points out validly. "You haven't stopped complaining since we got on the bus this morning. In fact, you haven't stopped complaining since I _met _you."

"Well, that's because my life sucks," Katie retorts stubbornly, drawing her hood further over her face as wind starts driving the lashing rain harder into their faces. Rebecca, her brown hair now plastered completely to her head, sighs dramatically and adopts a tone that mimics Katie's.

"Oh, gosh, I'm K and, God, _fuck my life. _My hair never goes the way I want it to, my room is a total bombsite, my boyfriend doesn't love me enough and, to cap it all, I'm missingthe latest Gossip Girl episode."

Katie buries her face in her hands, a soaking strand of hair falling into her face. "Great. Thanks for reminding me."

Rebecca, with a snort of annoyance, shoves her friend in the shoulder.

"How will you ever _survive_?" she mocks, and Katie raises her face to glare at her friend, blue eyes crinkled in a scowl.

"You have no idea. This throws my schedule completely out of whack."

Rebecca just gives her that _look. _"Do you even need me to tell you how sad it is that you have a schedule?"

"Without that schedule I wouldn't be able to fit all these programs around school and life," Katie hastens to explain, refusing to allow Rebecca to interrupt. They're so absorbed in their argument they don't even notice when the lightening starts to flash in a decidedly sinister way, and as Rebecca reaches out to smack her friend upside the head she overbalances and falls backwards through a … well, she guesses a _window _…of sorts … that definitely wasn't there before.

She grabs Katie and they tumble through together, landing hard on a cold stone floor.

"Ow," they both moan in sync as they discover themselves lying flat on their backs with their soaked clothes clinging in a really disgustingly uncomfortable way to their bodies.

"Well, at least we know it works," a slightly bashful and yet remarkably chipper voice sounds from somewhere above and to the left of them.

"Yes, well done, Merlin," another voice responds, dripping with sarcasm, as wrinkled hands move to help Katie sit up. "Are you okay, lad?"

"First of all, I'm a _girl._ And that's completely insulting that you thought I was a boy. And second of all, get off me. I can sue for that."

Katie brushes off the attempt at help from the man, and rather shakily gets to her feet, swaying a little on the spot as she pointedly ignores the room's other occupants and bends to help Rebecca stand, both girls leaning on each other to remain upright.

"Sorry about that," the first voice announces blithely, not sounding very sorry at all. "I was seeing if I could create a portal."

"Yeah, well, it worked, you moron," Rebecca mutters as they both turn to stare at the speaker. Through the slight spinning of the room that is the result of a knock to the head, all she can make out is dark hair and really weirdly blue eyes. But then Katie abandons her and dashes forwards, throwing her arms around the young man in what was probably meant to be a hug, but is in fact just a rather excellent rugby-tackle.

"Ohmygodmarryme!" she squeals loudly, her arms locked tightly around the poor guy. Rebecca, somewhat unsteadily, moves over to her friend and pries her off. She blinks to try and stop the dizziness, and eventually the young man's face swings into focus.

"I'm Merlin," he says cheerfully, slowly edging away from Katie, who's being restrained by Rebecca not at all securely enough for his liking.

"I'm Katie but call me K, everyone does," Katie babbles, trying to follow him. "And I completely love you and you'll love me too, you just wait and see." With a beam, she turns to Rebecca. "My imagination kicks _ass. _This is the best dream _ever._"

"And you are?" the old man asks in a somewhat confused manner, his gaze directed at Rebecca.

"I'm Rebecca. And you're a figment of my crazy imagination. Nice to meet you."

Merlin laughs along with him, and the old man winks. "I'm Gaius, the court physician. It's nice to meet you too."

"Don't you _see, _Bex?" Katie whispers excitedly into her friend's ear. "We're _in _Merlin."

Rebecca casts a glance at the thin young man with the weird blue eyes. "No, we're not. He's over there. And I'm dreaming anyway."

Katie goes to smack her. Rebecca, with an ease that shows long practice, whips her hand up to block the blow. "You're not dreaming," Katie insists, her blue eyes wide with delight. "We're in Camelot. We've gone back in time!"

Rebecca just gives her a weird look and goes to sit on a bench in the corner of the room. "I want to wake up now," she announces to the room at large. When nothing happens, she frowns at the other three. Merlin, who's currently dodging Katie's attempted advances, moves up to her.

"I really hate to break it to you, but you're not dreaming."

"That's what you would say if I _was _dreaming," Rebecca points out validly. "This is my brain messing with me."

"You're not," Merlin promises with a wink, and reaches out to pinch her arm.

"Ow, you bastard!" she screeches, her hand whipping up instantly to give him a good solid slap around the face. As her hand makes contact with a sharp crack, she feels the tingling and is forced to conclude – grudgingly – that maybe he's telling the truth.

"So why are we here?" Katie asks brightly, plonking herself down on the bench next to Rebecca.

"I was trying out this new spell. I want to go looking for Morgana, and a portal would be the easiest way to find her because then we don't have to worry about Arthur wanting to go in with all his knights and beat everybody up to get her back."

"_Merlin_," Gaius hisses. "You know you're not supposed to tell people about … you know …!"

"Oh, come on, Gaius. Who's going to believe them? They're dressed like a pair of lunatics. I mean, what _are _those trousers? They're so tight they'd be impossible to move in, and – "

"They're called skinny jeans and they just happen to be _fashionable_," Katie explains, a note of steel creeping into her voice. These are a new pair of jeans, and a touchy subject.

"But look at yourselves," Merlin comments truthfully. "Your hair is completely unkempt, you're wearing the strangest clothes I've ever seen – where do you come from? Mercia?"

"Where?" Rebecca inquires blankly, and Katie steps on her foot.

"No. We come from St Jenkins," she says like that explains everything. Merlin raises an eyebrow, and Gaius sighs and heads over to a stack of books, pulling out a pair of glasses as he goes.

"Whoa now," Rebecca says suddenly. "This can't be a dream because my imagination would never be so stupid. Dude, glasses weren't invented until the 13th century. If this really is Camelot, you wouldn't have them."

Gaius looks a little annoyed at this. "Well, I do."

Rebecca glares at him and looks about to add something further when footsteps are heard outside the door and Merlin grabs them both, dragging them to a cupboard.

"_Don't _come out," he orders firmly. "And if you're found say nothing of my magic."

"Whatever," Katie replies, pulling out her deck of cards. "Wanna play blackjack?" she asks Rebecca, and as Merlin crashes the door shut on them both Katie is shuffling the deck like a pro.

"Merlin!" a voice shouts from across the room as the door is bashed open. Rebecca silently tackles Katie to keep her from bursting out of the cupboard, cards rising in a papery flurry all around them.

"Sire?" the servant replies innocently, moving to stand in front of the cupboard. Inside, Rebecca is noiselessly wrestling with Katie, her hand clamped over her friend's mouth. Katie throws herself sideways, and the cupboard rattles on its legs.

"Freeze," Rebecca whisper-orders as heavy footsteps draw closer. They both hold their breath.

"Merlin, what on earth have you got in that cupboard?"

They hear only a mumbled response by Merlin, and then Gaius jumps in.

"It's a new plant I've found to make a potion for the Lady Eala's cough, my lord. It's a little top-heavy so it falls over a lot."

Katie and Rebecca are forced by lack of oxygen to take a gulp of air, and exchange glances when the footsteps grow ever close.

"You're getting beheaded first," Katie mutters, and Rebecca glares at her.

"No way, neat freak. You're the one who knows all about this shit. You're going first."

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Eventually whispering gets a little too much, and just as the new voice comments something about a talking plant, the door to the cupboard bursts open and Katie and Rebecca spill out, wrestling with each other as they roll around on the floor.

"I'm not getting beheaded!" Katie cries as she yanks on Rebecca's hair. Rebecca murmurs something unintelligible (and rude) and as she struggles to pin her friend down strong hands descend and pull them apart.

"You know, Merlin," the blonde man holding Katie back says with a smirk, "it's no wonder you have issues with girls if you kidnap them instead of asking for a date."

"At least I don't require a love potion to get all the pretty ones interested in me," Merlin's voice retorts from very close to Rebecca's ear.

"You can let go now," she announces crossly, hitching her cardigan back up over her shoulder as he releases her. Katie has finally worked out who is restraining her and looks like everything she ever dreamed about has just come true.

"You're … you're … you're _Arthur_," she chokes out almost silently, and the man lets her go warily. Rebecca sidles over to her friend and places a restraining hand on her arm.

"Deep breaths, K. In and out," she coaxes, watching with considerable amusement as Arthur's confused gaze flicks to Merlin and his eyes narrow.

"I'm guessing you have something to explain?" he sighs eventually, and Merlin looks bashful as the girls immediately put on their most innocent expressions.

"I found them out in the woods," he begins.

"You did?" Rebecca asks in surprise, then makes an 'oof' noise as Katie's elbow finds her ribs and rephrases hurriedly. "I mean … you did. That's right. Way out in the woods."

"Yeah, way out," Katie concurs, nodding frantically as Arthur gives them a strange look and turns his attention back to Merlin.

"So, in the woods … ?"

"Yes, in the woods," Katie repeats, still nodding, and Rebecca steps on her foot.

"They were being chased by bandits," Merlin invents, and the girls are now both nodding.

"Bandits," Katie says, putting on a fake-afraid expression.

"With swords," Rebecca adds quickly, making a gesture that could be something to do with a guy waving a sword around.

"So I distracted the bandits while they got away, then escaped the bandits and brought them back here because they were all alone."

"Alone," Rebecca repeats, her slowly-drying hair bobbing with her frantic nodding.

"In the woods," Katie says again, brushing some of her auburn hair out of her face. "All alone in the woods."

Arthur is by this point, understandably, totally suspicious.

"So you were being chased by bandits in the woods?" he asks.

"Yes. In the woods," Katie explains again, and he just gives her a mildly scared glance.

"And _Merlin _helped you escape?" Arthur continues, his narrowed eyes moving between his servant and the two teenage girls.

"Yes. Merlin helped us escape," Rebecca agrees, patting the young wizard gratefully on the shoulder.

"In the woods."

"He gets it about the woods, K," Rebecca hisses, poking her friend in the side. Merlin just shrugs when Arthur stares at him in disbelief.

"Where are you from?" the prince asks, turning his attention back to the two girls.

"St Jenkin's sch- Neamur." Rebecca says, changing track mid-sentence and leaving both Merlin and Arthur looking confused. Even Gaius, half-forgotten in the corner, shoots her an odd look.

"St Jenkin's Skneamur?" Arthur repeats slowly, regarding them askance.

"Yes," Katie concurs, nodding again. "It's a long way from here, past … Mercia."

"There's a lot of statues," Rebecca adds at random, and Katie nods seriously as the three men just _look _at them.

"So we can take you back there?" Arthur suddenly asks hopefully, and the girls exchange quick glances.

"Uh, no, see – our whole village was attacked by bandits. We're the only ones that got out because we were … er …" Rebecca trails off awkwardly, and Katie jumps in quickly.

"We were out picking potatoes," she declares proudly, and Rebecca turns to her with a sigh.

"K, potatoes didn't get to England until, like, the sixteenth century or something."

"Whatever," Katie retorts under her breath. "I could swear I saw some one time." Her gaze narrows impishly as she turns to wink at Merlin. "Maybe they just … appear out of thin air?"

The young wizard glares at her as Arthur sighs heavily, his hand resting on his sword as he edges closer to the door.

"So we can't send you back?" the prince asks, looking a little crestfallen, and the girls shrug in unison.

"I dunno. Maybe Merlin will think of something?" Rebecca suggests hopefully, pointedly glaring at the young man in question.

"I'll see if there's anything to be done, sire," Merlin replies grudgingly, still annoyed at Katie for being so completely unsubtle.

"Very good," Arthur announces, his hand resting on the door latch. "Until then, give them rooms as far away from mine as possible … and see if you can't find them some proper clothes while you're at it."

And with that, he flees. The two girls turn round to face Merlin and cross their arms.

"So, _Merlin, _what are you going to do with us?" Rebecca inquires rather rudely, and he runs a hand through his hair as Katie wanders over to start poking around in a cupboard.

"Well, I could try to open the portal up again?" he says, looking more wistful than expectant, and Rebecca nods.

"You do that," she replies, a little patronisingly. Katie's head appears from in the cupboard.

"I don't want to leave yet," she pouts, brushing soot off her forehead. Gaius, with a sigh, goes in to reorganise the bottles she's knocked over.

"Well, you can't stay here," he says firmly as he hands Katie a handkerchief to clean her face off with. "Where are you even from?"

"St Jenkin's Skneamur," Katie replies with a smirk, and Gaius just gives her an exasperated look.

"England," Rebecca replies from the other side of the room. She's leaning over Merlin, making him uncomfortable in the hopes that he'll look for the spell faster.

"Yes, obviously," the servant replies wearily. "But where in England?"

"Or perhaps _when_ might be a better question?" Gaius suggests, taking a seat opposite Merlin as Rebecca seats herself with a sigh and pulls a heavy book towards her.

"We come from 2010," she says. "We survived the noughties, and we're all the way into double-digits now."

Gaius and Merlin just shoot her confused looks.

"We're from _way _in the future," she explains again, and they both nod understandingly. "Like, one and a half thousand years in the future."

"Wow," Merlin says quietly. "That spell was strong."

Gaius nods, and the two men share a brief look. Rebecca glares at them in the hopes that they'll explain further, but then there's a crash and they all whip round to see Katie holding a struggling kitten in her arms.

"How cute is he?!" she exclaims happily, ignoring the scratches as the kitten hisses in her arms. "I'm going to call him Pendragon!"

Rebecca sighs. "K, you can't keep it."

"Why not?" her friend shoots back with a pout. "He's so cute!"

Rebecca regards the little grey kitten with slight apprehension as it turns fierce blue eyes on her and spits a little. "It probably belongs to someone," she says, grasping at straws.

"No, it's okay," Merlin announces blithely. "They're all just palace cats, they don't belong to anyone."

"Help me out here," she hisses at him, and he holds his hands up in apology.

"Katie, why don't you go ask the kitchens for some fish for him?" he suggests helpfully, and both girls roll their eyes.

"You retard. We can't go out dressed like this, they'll think we're crazy," Rebecca informs him blankly, and Katie nods in agreement.

"Yes, it's the _clothes,_" Merlin mutters into his book, and Rebecca considers smacking him but can't be bothered.

"We're just going to go steal some of your clothes, 'kay?" she announces to Merlin, who looks like he might complain. They flee up the stairs into his room, and he listens to the bangs and laughter before deciding that he likes his face the way it is and leaving them to it.

"So, magic man, did you find a way back yet?" a voice asks near his ear about half an hour later, and he whirls to find Katie dressed in one of his shirts, belted at the waist, with a pair of trousers that the laundry ladies shrank in the wash over a year ago underneath and a blue neckerchief round her neck.

"How do I look?" she inquires with a beam, twirling and pouting.

"Weird," he tells her honestly. "Those trousers are so tight they're like your skin."

She grins even more broadly at this, adjusting the neckerchief slightly.

"Bex is just coming. She couldn't decide between the green and red shirt."

Merlin sighs. "You still look just as out of place as before. We need to find you a couple of dresses."

Rebecca appears from Merlin's room with his feathery "official Camelot servant-garb" hat placed over her hair at a rakish angle and outfit identical to Katie's in all but colour.

"I take it that means you couldn't figure out how to send us back?"

"…yeah. You could say that."

Katie turns to her friend and smiles wickedly.

"Race you to the kitchens!"

--

**A/N: **So … I think this maybe sucks. I dunno. Leave me a review – if I get enough positive feedback I'll continue. For the record, if I do continue the following will NOT happen:

Merlin or Arthur falling for either girl

Either girl learning to use magic

Both girls going home with no sufficient explanation.

'Cause that annoys be beyond belief when it happens in other stories.

--


	2. Dinner, food poisoning and invisibility

**A/N: **Thanks so much for all the reviews, you guys brighten up my day! Infuriatingly, I typed this up _ages _ago and only just realised I had it finished. You are all free to lock me in the stocks and pelt me with tomatoes, what-ho!

Now, this chapter will attempt to address at least one of the issues other _OMGZ-a-girl-from-today-went-back-to-Camelot _stories seem to totally ignore: namely the fact that our stomachs simply will not accept food from near-on one and a half thousand years ago. Fact of life, folks. But don't worry, Katie and Rebecca will recover. I mean, where's the fun in a story where the protagonists spend it all being sick?

---

The girls sprint through the kitchens, steal two plates of food meant for Arthur and Uther and keep running until they find themselves in an empty corridor. Katie almost crashes into Rebecca as the brunette stops abruptly.

"Uh, K?" she says a trifle nervously, and her friend replies with a mumble through a mouthful of chicken.

"Whassamutter?"

Rebecca gives her a _look _and then deposits her plate of food on a handy windowsill before climbing up beside it and staring at the view.

"This is bloody _awesome_," she announces happily, watching as several villagers are waved through the castle gates by some bored-looking soldiers.

"Where are we, do you suppose?" Katie asks with considerable interest, her gaze taking in the several suits of armour and tapestries that decorate the hallway.

"I bet we're lost," Rebecca replies grouchily, settling down on the windowsill and taking a bite of cheese. "I bet we die here, all alone and miserable and starving."

"Not if you eat the chicken," Katie replies, waving her chicken leg temptingly under Rebecca's nose. "It's really good."

They hear a loud shout and many pounding feet from some distance away, and Katie edges closer to Rebecca with some consternation.

As the people, whoever they are, get closer, Katie takes another large bite of chicken and chews on it nervously. Suddenly Arthur appears round a corner, sword drawn, flanked by at least twelve knights.

They all stare at each of other for several moments.

"That's my dinner!" Arthur explodes suddenly, and Katie and Rebecca glance at each other.

"Run?" Katie asks. Rebecca readjusts her feathery hat and then grins wickedly.

"Run!"

With a roar of fury, Arthur gives chase, the knights sprinting after him.

The girls weave in and out of random people roaming the hallways, with absolutely no clue as to where they're going; while Arthur runs after them, getting redder and redder with each passing moment.

"You know, you ought to try shifting a few pounds," Rebecca taunts over her shoulder, holding her hat down with one hand. "Then that armour wouldn't slow you down as much."

Arthur gives another cry of rage, Katie yells "Wow, articulate much?" and they round a corner and find themselves, to their utter delight, back in Gaius' rooms.

"Hide us!" They hiss in unison at Merlin. Luckily he is used to having to hide, so he whips out a hand and says a spell.

"Ohmigod!" Katie cries in delight. "We're invisible!"

Rebecca looks down at her own body to find it not quite there. There's a vague, shimmery sort of outline that she realises are her feet, and glances up to find herself just able to make out Katie.

"Don't worry, only you can see each other. And me, 'cause I made the spell. Now pipe down!" Merlin commands, sitting hurriedly back down at his table as though nothing has happened.

Katie and Rebecca retreat into a corner of the room as the door bursts open and Arthur comes striding into the room with his exhausted-looking guards trailing behind him.

"Thoughts at PG-13, please, K," Rebecca whispers because she just _knows _what Katie is thinking as Arthur runs a gloved hand through his hair and does his notorious _oh-no-they-got-away _pout.

"Did you see them?" the prince asks Merlin, and Merlin turns round to face him.

"Hi Merlin, nice to see you. Gosh, Arthur, you too! How are you?"

"Idiot," the two girls mutter at the same time Arthur does, and smother giggles as the prince stalks irritably around the room, poking in cupboards and through doors. They hold their breath as he nears them, and then breathe out as he passes over their "hiding-place" with barely a second glance.

"Reeeeetard," they chant joyfully under their breaths as he gives the room one final pouty glare before leaving and slamming the door behind him.

"So, girls," Merlin says, turning to their corner, only to find it empty in the real sense of the word. "Oh no," he moans quietly as he watches the door swing forlornly on its hinges.

Gaius enters about five minutes later to find the young magician with his head in his hands muttering something about doomsday.

"What happened?" the physician asks with some aspersion, dreading to think what Merlin's got himself into this time.

"I think I just released two invisible teenagers into Camelot …" Merlin explains hopelessly. Gaius just stares at him as all the colour drains out of his face.

"God help us all."

--

"Okay, Operation Freak-Out-Uther is a-go," an invisible Katie whispers into an imaginary walkie-talkie some time later as the two prowl along the stone hallway toward the throne room. They both pause to assess the four guards on the door.

"You know the plan, Bex?" Katie mutters quietly to her friend, who nods and Katie doesn't need to be able to see her face to know that there's a smirk written _all _over it.

"One distraction coming up," Rebecca replies, and the two attempt to bump knuckles once, miss, and succeed the second time round.

"Go, go, go!" Katie whisper-yells as Rebecca stalks silently down the hallway, stopping briefly in front of the guards to check them out, and then carrying on round the corner. Katie counts down from five, and then:

"Argh! Help! Second-degree rape, second-degree rape! Save me! I'm gonna dieeeeee!"

The voice peters out as the guards all sprint off round the corner, and Katie, a beam the size of Africa stretched across her cheeks, hurries down the corridor and throws the double doors of the throne room wide open.

"Uther Pendragon!" she booms in her best man-voice. The king, sprawled in his throne, snaps instantly upright.

"Who's there?" he asks stupidly, his sword immediately in his hand. Katie hears Rebecca join her, and they nod at each other before setting off in opposite directions to circle the throne.

"We are your judors!"

"_Jurors_," Rebecca corrects from the other side of the room.

"Yeah, that," Katie replies, desperately trying not to laugh as Uther whips his head from side to side so fast he gives himself whiplash. "And you will be judged for your despicable lack of understanding in the …magicality… sector."

"Smooth," Rebecca mocks, and Katie flicks her off before remembering that she probably can't see it.

"_Guards_!" Uther calls in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. Rebecca and Katie both laugh the manic witch-cackles they've been practising.

"How are your precious guards going to fight _ghosts_?" Rebecca taunts, now standing almost in the far corner of the room.

"We are the souls of the women you killed for magic," Katie hisses, leaning right up to his ear to say it. He jumps about a foot in the air before turning and slashing wildly at the air with his sword.

"Repent, repent, repent," the girls chant, slowly fading out into silence before legging it from the throne room as the guards arrive, Uther still having a sword fight with mid-air.

Once out of the throne room and wandering absently back in the general direction of Gaius' quarters, they both suddenly notice that the other is beginning to re-appear.

"Well, that didn't last long," Katie complains as her feet swim into focus, her eyes floating unnaturally in mid-air.

"You look weird," Rebecca says, watching a pair of feet and a pair of eyes walking along next to her and dreading to think what she herself looks like. They clamber into a handy alcove to wait until they are fully visible again.

"_You_," a voice growls several moments later, and they halt their game of slapsies to crane their necks up and look at the interrupter of their game.

"Oh. It's you," Rebecca says disappointedly, pushing and shoving her way out of the alcove as Arthur rests his hand on the handle of his sword. "Look, we'd love to stay and chat but we're late for dinner."

Arthur glares as Katie hoists herself back onto her feet and nods. "Yeah, and Gaius will probably have an epi fit if we're late."

"A what?" Arthur asks with considerable bemusement, watching as the girls link arms and head off down the corridor, disappearing into the crowd. Arthur watches the feathers on Rebecca's hat bob amongst the other people and momentarily considers following them, but then decides he doesn't have the energy and sinks down onto a bench instead.

The two girls return to their temporary home (or Camp Magic, as Katie is insisting on calling it) to find Gaius and Merlin already eating.

"Thanks for waiting," Rebecca says acidly, taking a seat at the bench next to Merlin and pulling one of the spare bowls towards her. "Oh, god, what is this?"

"It's stew," Gaius replies patiently as Katie sits down next to him and examines the contents of the bowl with disgust.

"Where's the hog roast and all that?" Katie asks disappointedly, swirling her spoon round her bowl a couple of times.

"You won't be getting one of those while you're here," Merlin tells her, and the girls turn identical pouts on him.

"Why not?" Rebecca inquires, bravely taking a bite of the stew. To her surprise, it's not _too _bad.

"Firstly because I am getting you out of here as soon as possible," Merlin explains, "and secondly because you're not a noble, and only nobles get to actually eat at the banquets."

"What about democracy and equality?!" Katie demands in outrage, banging her fist on the table.

"Demo-what?" Gaius replies, and Katie and Rebecca exchange glances.

"Oh. I guess that explains it then."

"You know what?" Rebecca declares, taking another mouthful of stew. "I'm going to the next banquet, and I'm _eating_."

Merlin and Gaius just smirk. "And how do you plan to pull that one off?" Merlin asks with some interest. Katie and Rebecca both laugh darkly.

"The less you know the better, for your own safety."

"Great, that makes me feel better," Merlin mutters, and Rebecca smacks him on the arm before standing up and stretching, her bowl empty already.

"Where's my bed?" she enquires, rubbing her tummy absently as her muscles uncoil for a moment. Gaius gets up with his own bowl and leaves it on the side before leading her over to a small door in the corner of the room.

"You two can share this one. Don't you dare disturb _anything_."

They promise and head off to bed, shucking their trousers and neckerchiefs and belts to sleep in Merlin's shirts.

"You know, they're not so bad," Merlin comments as he goes round blowing out the candles in the main room. He slips into the girls' room, expecting them to be awake and glaring, but to his astonishment they're already fast asleep in the double bed. He blows out the candle and chuckles as Rebecca irritably pushes Katie's long hair out of her face in her sleep, rolling over and snoring slightly.

"They're even quite endearing," Gaius adds, moving behind him to shut their door.

They have both changed their minds by five o' clock the next morning, having been taking care of the two violently ill girls for an hour already.

Merlin sits on the edge of the bed, keeping them cool with his magic, as Gaius cleans up after them and potters around looking for cures. Rebecca throws up again just as Gaius moves back into the room holding a huge book.

"They're reacting to the food," he explains, and Katie rolls her eyes tiredly, her face pasty in the candlelight.

"Great. We've got food poisoning. I thought you could only get that from bad Chinese restaurants."

Rebecca mumbles an angry-sounding agreement, collapsing back against the piled-up pillows.

"Your systems are so used to your own food that your bodies couldn't digest the food we gave you, so they rejected it all and that's what's made you ill."

"Fan-bloody-tastic," Rebecca groans, wiping her forehead and then sighing gratefully as Merlin cranks up his magic and cools her down further. "So we can't eat anything?"

"We'll introduce you to our food slowly," Gaius says, shutting the big book and coming to sit next to Rebecca, on the opposite side of the bed to Merlin. "You'll be fine in a few days."

"A few _days_?" Katie repeats in horror. "We're going to be stuck in this bed for _days_?"

Merlin turns to Gaius, looking deadly serious. "Gaius, if they have to stay cooped up for that long imagine how much energy they'll have when they finally get up."

The physician and magician share a long look, and Katie kicks Merlin to get his attention back. "We promise not to use any of it up on you. Arthur and Uther are far more fun."

Rebecca snaps her fingers suddenly with a plan, is sick again briefly, and then makes shooing motions at Merlin with her hands.

"Fetch paper and a pen. And quick!"

With no idea what either is, Merlin disappears out of the room. Both girls groan as the cool air he conjured moves away with him.

"Put it back, idiot!" Katie complains loudly, and Merlin shouts an apology from the next room as the cold air settles back around them.

He reappears holding a piece of parchment and a quill, and hands it over to Rebecca reluctantly. Both girls lean over it immediately, muttering away. Already learning how to stay safe, Merlin and Gaius back slowly out of the room and return to their own beds to try to get some sleep.

--

Over the course of the next two days, the girls gradually become able to keep food down, and the scattered pieces of ink-covered paper around and on their bed multiply almost by the second.

Merlin, bringing them a bowl of strawberries each, pauses to scoop one off the floor.

"Strawb'rries!" Katie crows in delight, snatching the bowls off Merlin as he attempts to work out what they've drawn.

"What is this?" he asks interestedly, perching on Katie's edge of the bed and forcing her to shift her legs.

"It's a drawing," Rebecca replies with a straight face, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she leans over to explain. "This bit," she says, pointing to a detailed group of hearts and smiley faces, "is going on the floor of the throne room. And this bit," she continues, pointing to a unicorn with '_I've learned my lesson_' written above it, "is going on the back of the throne itself. It's gonna be awesome!"

They high-five, and Merlin tilts the paper from side to side.

"How did you make it colourful?"

In reply, Rebecca points at the various sharpie pens strewn across the blankets.

"Katie's an art freak – she had these all stashed away in her jacket pocket. We recovered them while you guys were asleep."

"When you say _recovered _them …" he trails off nervously.

"Oh, we snuck into your room while you were sleeping. You snore most adorably," Katie tells him happily, blinking innocently. Merlin glares, and she holds her ink-stained hands up in surrender. "Hey, it's not our fault you decided to stash our stuff in your bedroom."

"I had that _hidden _under a floorboard," he points our validly. "How on earth did you find it?"

The girls exchange quick glances, and then turn to him with deadly serious expressions.

"We're psychic," Katie explains in a low voice. "We know _everything _you're thinking."

Merlin gives them a somewhat disturbed look. "So what am I thinking now?" he inquires, and Rebecca grins.

"That we're not really psychic."

"Whoa," Merlin says with some astonishment. "That's amazing!"

The two girls look at each other again, and then burst out laughing.

"Psychic," Rebecca splutters, holding onto Katie's shoulder as they nearly asphyxiate themselves. "God, I can't breathe!"

Merlin throws up his hands and leaves them to it.

---

**A/N: **So there you have it. The next chapter will see the fantabulous redecoration of Uther's throne room.

Please don't favourite without reviewing, thanks!


End file.
